Lady Forsaken Box Set (Books 1 - 5), page 43
Ruby knew her mouth fell open in shock, unable to find the words to convince Ellington that she was nothing like their father or Ellington’s mother. She would not tire of, or become annoyed by her sister’s presence.
Before she could utter any of the words forming in her head, Ellington said, “Good day, please show yourself out.” With that, she started down the stairs, leaving Ruby to stare after her.
Shaking herself into action, Ruby followed her down the stairs, where the marquis’ doorman stood with the door open, waiting for her to depart. Embarrassed at the possibility of the servant overhearing their entire conversation, Ruby moved toward the open door so as not to bring anymore scandal for the man to share with the other household staff. She was sure that within minutes of her departure, Alex—even tucked safely away in the stables—would hear the whole of her visit with Ellie and know that she was the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Drake, a rogue amongst all London rakes.
Ruby had agreed to take the girl for a stroll in Hyde Park, and now she was faced with her family’s horrible secrets being laid out before all the ton by supper.
Taking the townhouse steps two at a time, she wondered if now was the time to warn her friends.
Chapter 25
“Are you sure this vessel will do?” Harold eyed the clipper his brother, William, had selected for their first trip to France. The quick jaunt across the channel would turn a fast profit for them. They planned to import anything of high demand at the time: tea, brandy, fabric, and spices. If the demand existed for lady’s bonnets, then they would deal in women’s finery.
“It is sound. Previous owner says it made the trip across the channel over three dozen times with nary a problem.” William stood next to him as they took in their newly acquired asset. “The hull is sound, with no signs of leaks or rot.”
The clipper had seen better days—as in, every day before the current one. Harold wondered how the ship stayed afloat, but they had little chance if they wanted to start their venture without delay. He only hoped it didn’t sink before it returned with the goods. If they needed a better ship, Harold would have no other option but to include another investor in the project—and he and William had both agreed to keep their activities, and the profits, between themselves.
“What is our next step?” William asked.
“I believe it is time we hire a crew and send them out on our maiden voyage.” Harold attempted to suppress his growing excitement. Very shortly his life—and his brother’s—could change for the better. “Have you confirmed our first shipment?”
“I received word only this morning,” William said. “A load of fabrics and spices await our clipper’s arrival in Le Havre. We will load and immediately head for Dover.”
Harold had been leery about scheduling their first cargo shipment before they’d acquired a ship, but William had been confident that all would work in their favor. “Le Havre, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Is that not a risky port?”
“That is why now is the perfect time.”
“How so?”
“With the decrease in trade to and from the port due to the war, typhoid outbreak, and heavy winds, the market is there and others are playing it safe.”
His brother had done his research, and Harold would not fault him for his initiative. It was exactly the call he would have made himself. “All very true, brother. But we must remember, if this fails—if our ship sinks in a storm or our crew catches the fever—our livelihoods are at stake. We will have nothing.”
“I have thought the same, and decided that in order to ensure all goes well, I will journey with our crew on the first trip.”
With the conversation reaching an easy flow, they boarded the ship. Without saying a word, they both moved about the boat, checking weld spots and searching for dry rot; anything that could cause loss of either human life or precious cargo while at sea.
The risk William was willing to wager, more than money or reputation—his very life—garnered an even greater amount of respect. “Do you have experience aboard a ship?”
“I’ve lived near the port for most of my adult life. I have witnessed sails raised and lowered almost as many times as I’ve seen the sun rise.” William patted Harold’s back in reassurance. “How hard can it be?”
Harold had heard many stories of men enduring relentless sea sickness while aboard long voyages—even one that ended with the sailor jumping overboard to stop the unyielding illness. But, William was a grown man capable of making his own choices. It was not Harold’s responsibility to convince his brother that his decision was unwise. They both had much at stake in this venture.
“I do believe you are right,” Harold said instead.
Their inspection completed, they departed the boat. Harold was satisfied that it was sound, at least as far as he knew.
They both stood, side by side, staring at their new vessel for several minutes. Harold was not ready for their meeting to end; it was not often he spent time with family in any capacity other than forced association.
“Have you written father?” Harold asked.
“Whatever for?” William sounded affronted at the very notion. “I escaped him years ago and do not plan to return.”
“What about mother?” That was Harold’s one regret. He and his brothers avoided their father like the plague, yet, he knew his mother was the one who suffered. With no one around to take the brunt of Vicar Jakeston’s scorn and anger, it left her to absorb it all.
William shrugged. “She married the man, I did not.”
Harold wanted to weep for the family he’d likely never have…and the neglected one he did. With no idea how to bridge the distance they’d all put between one another, he knew going home would not solve their larger issues.
“She loves us, in her own way.” Harold had to try. “Even though father clouds her affection.”
“I agree, brother,” William said. “When I return, I will visit her. I am sure she’d find delight in exotic fabrics for a few new dresses…and father will scoff at the extravagance. I think it will be a great homecoming for me.”
Leave it to William to plan a trip that would anger their father. Harold might just tag along, to see his father’s reaction to their new venture and its spoils.
William jumped back on the vessel and it rocked beneath his feet, with a gentle to-and-fro motion. “Things are moving in the right direction for us, Harold. We are men above and beyond what our father ever thought we’d attain, but I have work to do.”
“I would like to help.”
“And dirty your pretty clothes? I think not.” William chuckled. “This thing looks as if it hasn’t been scrubbed since that last nail was driven into place.”
Harold eyed his brother as he removed his waistcoat and rolled up his sleeves. “You think I am incapable of a little manual labor?”
“Oh, little Harry is all a-fluster now,” William teased goodheartedly. “You are welcome to lend a hand, it is only that I did not want to keep you from any important dealings about town.”
He sensed his brother was testing him—and Harold would pass. Jumping on to the vessel he asked, “Well, sir, where do you suggest we start?”
Chapter 26
Ruby slammed the door behind her, overwhelmed at all there was to think about, and longing to dwell on nothing. Her tears as she’d fled the marquis’ house had surely wiped the cover from her bruised cheek. The trip back to Lord Haversham’s home had passed in a blur, thanks to her ceaseless sobbing. To draw as little attention as possible Ruby had lowered her head, making eye contact with no one. A few times she’d bumped into strangers—with a quiet apology she’d continued on, seeking her room and a place to hide.
She wished she could forget all she’d heard, somehow erase it from her memory and go back to a simpler time.
Before she knew of her mother’s deceit.
Before she’d lied to her best friend.
Before she’d been blackmailed.
Before she learned of her sister—a pickpocket.
And certainly, before she learned her father was a rake of the highest order. A man so despicable he saw no person as exempt from his cruel words, even his own flesh and blood.
She slipped onto the seat before her dressing table and looked at the face reflected back at her in the mirror. Unrecognizable, the face looking back at her held defeat, devoid of all strength. Robbed of the one thing she’d held dear all these years—her ability to push forward, no matter the situation.
But all she wanted now was to flee everyone and everything, disappear and return to the anonymity that had been her life thus far. If she weren’t in London, surrounded by people who only sought to perpetuate false ideals of themselves, then she could focus on what truly mattered.
At this moment, she did not have the faintest idea what that actually was. She’d lost sight of who she was, where she was going, and what her future would hold.
What had she thought to gain by coming to London? She wasn’t capable of the task she’d set for herself, nor had she been prepared for the outcome.
She’d made a mess of everything.
She only hoped it wasn’t too late to clean up the disaster that had become her life. Dipping the cloth in the bowl of water on her table, she cleansed the cream hiding the bruise on her cheek. The injury had turned black and blue almost immediately, then varying shades of purple, but now tones of green infused her skin, signaling the healing had begun.
As her bruise would fade, so would her troubles if given time.
Ruby knew she was changed. Going back to the country mouse she’d been or hiring herself out as a companion to another lady in town would no longer suit her.
The door behind her slammed open, hitting the wall with such force that the mirror before Ruby shook, threatening to fall from its perch.
“Ruby, you will never guess…” Vi’s words stopped when their eyes made contact in the mirror. Her friend’s excitement vanished. “What happened to your face?”
Neither of them moved, or said another word. Vi stood frozen, an evening dress draped over her arm as Ruby continued to stare at her friend in the mirror, her hand cradling her injured cheek as if to conceal the evidence.
“I said, what happened to you?”
Ruby didn’t know what to say—what needed to be said to reassure Vi she was all right, there was nothing to fret over, and to leave her room without uttering a word to anyone, especially Lord Haversham.
“Do you think I have not noticed your sneaking about?” Vi asked, breaking their eye contact. Relief flooded Ruby as Vi moved to the bed and laid the gown down. “I have given you space—time to work on what has been bothering you, weighing you down. I’ve been patient, waiting for you to come to me and share—”
“It is not like that, Vi.”
“Then tell me what it is like. Why you have been so distant, why you came to London, why you leave the house through the stables only to return hours later by hired hack. Please,” Vi threw her arms into the air. “By all means, tell me what I did to cause you to lie to me. To use me for whatever you are after here in town.”
Vi was mad, spitting mad, and Ruby knew that she alone was responsible.
“Have I not trusted you these last eight years? Shared my deepest secrets—good and bad—with you, my dearest friend? Everything that is mine is yours.”
Ruby’s head dropped in shame. “You deserve better than the horrid friend I have been. I will pack my things and depart for the country.”
“You would leave, just like that, rather than confide in me? That is by far more hurtful than anything.”
“I cannot burden you with my problems. I hoped to be strong enough to solve my own troubles without bringing you and Brock into it. Once you know me, who I actually am, you may not want to be my friend any longer.”
“What about what I want?”
Ruby didn’t know how to respond.
“I want to be the kind of friend to you that you’ve always been to me,” Vi said. “If you will let me.”
Ruby turned in her seat, forcing herself to face her friend. She hung her head. “Things could not be any more of a disaster.”
“What is such a disaster?”
“My life.” The words were simple, but seemed to encompass everything.
“Start from the beginning, perhaps?” Vi suggested.
“I have no idea where that even is.”
“Well, you were in great spirits at my wedding, and you seemed happy to be back at home, and close to Brock and me at Haversham House.”
“I was,” Ruby conceded.
“And you were adamant that you did not want to join me in London.”
“That was true.”
“But then you arrived the day I was to leave, requesting to accompany me.” Vi stared at her, guessing correctly when all the trouble had begun. “What happened?”
Ruby sighed. “It was not what happened, but what I found.”
“Go on…”
Ruby wiped a stray tear from her bruised cheek. “I did not want to burden you with all of this and cause undue strain.”
“I am with child, not ailing of a heart condition,” Vi comforted her. “I am not an invalid, and find myself tired of you and Brock coddling me. Please tell me.”
“I was searching for the trunk that held the lovely dresses your father bought me last season. I was in the attic, covered in dust and sneezing all over the place, when I stumbled upon a book.”
And then, she told her—she told Vi all about her mother’s journal and the damning entries detailing her mother’s affair.
Her friend listened without interruption until Ruby had told her the sordid details of her dubious birth. “So, you came to London to confront your mother?” Vi asked.
Ruby shook her head. “No, I came to find my father—to learn who I am.”
“But you know who your father is: he is the man who raised you, doted on you. Nothing can take him away from you or change the fact that you belonged to him.”
“I wish it were that simple.” Ruby sighed, longing for what Vi had always known about herself. “You know who you are and where your family came from. I don’t know—or didn’t until recently—if I had another family, possibly siblings… A parent who would cherish me.”
“But you know now?”
She laughed, unsure what else to do. “I do.” So many emotions rushed through her, as they had on her journey home. “My father is alive and I have at least one sister, that I know of.”
“That is wonderful! What is his name? Was he happy to see you?”
“I have not met or talked to him, although he is well aware of me.” And he hadn’t sought her out. She knew at least of bit of the rejection and pain her mother had lived through in the days after learning of her pregnancy. “But I did meet my sister.”
“Oh!” Vi exclaimed. “Tell me about her! Is she older, younger, as beautiful as you?”
“She is much younger, and a pickpocket and blackmailer.” It was almost too much to believe. If she hadn’t seen it firsthand—and been the target of her sister’s deceit—she wouldn’t believe it herself. “But she is very smart and resourceful, for lack of a better term.”
“Oh, dear heaven!”
“Exactly my thought. Her name is Ellington.”
“And your face?” Vi asked. “Did you anger someone?”
The conversation, and a chance to be honest with Vi, had distracted her from the throbbing of her cheek. “That was an accident caused by my careless and naive behavior.”
“Hitting a woman is never an accident.”
“Oh, but this was most certainly an accident—and my fault. You see, I was at White’s—”
“You were where?”
“Let me explain.” Ruby turned on the bench, holding up her hand to silence Vi. “After the other night at dinner, I thought if I got a look at the betting book at White’s I would be able to find my father. Perhaps locate a wager about a man around that time who was connected to my mother.”
At the look of horror on Vi’s face, Ruby continued. “I know how ludicrous it sounds now, but with my other plans failing, I truly believed I could get into the club, search the book, and find some sort of information without anyone the wiser.”
“And how did you gain entrance to White’s?” Vi stuttered.
Ruby didn’t want to implicate Alex in her plan. “I borrowed a livery uniform and slipped in the back door.”
“The bruise? Were you found out?”
“I was found, but they do not know who I am,” Ruby confessed. “Well, except Rodney.”
“Rodney?” Vi fumed. “That insufferable cod…”
“Oh, the man who hit me was just as surprised to see him.”
“Someone else hit you? Please tell me this is all a farce and you stumbled into a door or some such nonsense.”
“I wish I could, but I was punched squarely in the face by a fist intended for Lord Haversham’s beloved cousin.”
“I am at a loss for words.”
Vi stared at her for a long few moments. Ruby nearly laughed aloud at her friend’s wide eyes and the absurdity of the entire story, now that she’d revealed just a few of the sordid details.
“That is just as well, because I have so many more for you.”
The words poured from her as if she sought to unburden her very soul.
Ruby rambled on about her ill-conceived plan to find her father, her list of potential men, and the homes she’d searched. It was harder to share her failures with Vi than she’d expected, and with those failures came Harold and Ellie’s involvement in her escapades.
“You were caught in a compromising situation with Harold?” Vi laughed. “It is impossible to picture Mr. Jakeston in such a position.”
“But it is easy for you to see me there?” Ruby asked, wounded.
“Of course not, I only mean—”
